Opposable Thumbs —

Bionic Commando multiplayer demo fails at selling game

The multiplayer demo for Bionic Commando is out for the Xbox 360, and it …

The Bionic Commando multiplayer demo is now available on Xbox Live right now, and after playing for a few matches in the past hour, I have to say that the game has never grabbed me in the times I've seen it before now, and playing multiplayer at home didn't cause me to be any less disappointed in the title.

Let's start with the inability to invite your friends to online games—so the demo limits you to playing with random people on one map. I would have loved to have gotten some friends together to play this morning, and a few other game writers wanted to set up games to chat about the title, but there is no way to invite anyone to the game. You have to deal with whomever the game gives you.

Moving onto the arm, it just doesn't feel right. I'm not even sure how to describe it, but ideally a game that allows you to zip around a level with a grappling hook attached to your arm should give you a sense of freedom and excitement... and I just didn't feel that while playing. The controls are awkward, and even after practice it didn't seem like the arm behaved in a way that made the game more enjoyable. It was just kind of there, which is the kiss of death for a game with such a prominent central mechanic.

The weapons don't feel powerful or interesting, the graphics are bland and unimaginative, and in simple terms, there just isn't much there to grab the player. The full title may still be good—I'm looking forward to the single-player—but I just don't see people getting excited about the game after playing this demo.

Bionic Commando is coming to the Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 19, and the PC on July 28.